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Off The Handle: ACI Aims High With EverRide
September 25, 2003
By Dan Shell
September 2003
Reprinted with permission from:
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New mower hits market at Expo, GIE.
In an era of increased consolidation and more OEMs rushing into the mass merchants' Venus flytrap arms, it's good to see a new premium mower manufacturer enter industry with a stated commitment to support the two-step distribution system by retailing its products exclusively through independent servicing dealerships.
In this case, the manufacturer isn't really new. Auburn Consolidated Industries (ACI) in Auburn , Neb. has been in business since 1928, primarily as a component manufacturer for major industry entities such as Kubota, Deere, Honda, New Holland and Agco. (Kubota actually owns 20% of the company.)
The company's entry into the premium mower market resulted from its work with Honda, which commissioned ACI to design a walk-behind mower several years ago, then followed up with a request to design and engineer a zero-turn rider. After three years of R&D, Honda executives changed their minds and decided not to offer the product. At the same time, ACI had hired a marketing firm to analyze developing its own products and taking them to market.
According to ACI Sales Manager Ray Van Voorhis (who was formerly with Carswell Distributing), ACI made a decision to go exclusively with distributors and servicing dealers from the start. "We think that's the best way to go to market," he says.
Just as important, he adds, is that many OEM factories have abandoned production based on two-step demand and instead operate primarily to meet production goals dictated by mass merchant needs. The effect, he explains, is that many of these facilities end up competing against themselves.
"We want to be a demand manufacturer, not a production manufacturer," he says.
Some may wonder why ACI is entering the zero-turn market now, especially since the segment's high growth rate has slowed and almost every existing mower manufacturer in industry now offers a zero-turn unit. Yet Van Voorhis believes the company, with its state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities that include laser cutters and powder-coating capabilities, can compete with any OEM in the industry. Even more important, he says, ACI can take its time in developing markets because it has strengths in other areas.
"This isn't our sole source of income, so we're not in such a big hurry, and we can take time to truly partner with distributors and bolster our dealer network," Van Voorhis says. Seven distributors have already been lined up, with more agreements pending, he adds.
Then there's the mower itself: Sold under the EverRide brand, the initial unit, scheduled for introduction at EXPO 2003 in Louisville and GIE in St. Louis, is a 25 HP (Kawasaki) mid-mount zero-turn mower with 54 and 60 in. deck options and hydrostatic drive featuring an Agri-Fab 16 transmission with Parker motors. Plans are to introduce a line of walk-behinds and lower price-point riders within 18 months, Van Voorhis says.
For a company that's looking to do business right by dealers, here's to ACI and its efforts. While EverRide's equipment performance, parts availability and dealer relations must ultimately be proved in the marketplace, manufacturers with such lofty ambitions are always welcome.
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